Continuous quality assessment of digitally-coded television pictures

Experimental tests are reported of the use of the ITU-R single-stimulus continuous quality evaluation (SSCQE) method to measure the quality of long (24 min) sequences of digitally coded constant bit-rate video, with and without audio. The results indicate that the method is reliable and free from drift and fatigue effects. The relationship between continuously-judged quality and overall quality judgements, made at the end of the sequences, is shown to be disproportionately influenced by negative SSCQE peaks and relatively little by their duration. The implication of these results for digital television coding and transmission is considered.